News article

21 June 2017

FDF response to Queen's Speech

“Today's Queen's Speech lays bare the sheer scale of the challenge facing the
Government and Parliament. As we seek to negotiate a new relationship with the EU
within just 22 months, securing the right outcome for our food and drink
industry is critical to both national security and to the prosperity of our economy. We
are committed to this outcome.

“We are ready to seize new opportunities, but our trading and regulatory ties
with the EU are deeply interwoven and must be dismantled with care. We cannot
afford any 'cliff edge' scenario.

“We need certainty that the current legislative framework that underpins our
sector's success – and food safety - will be embedded in UK law by April 2019. At
the same time, we need to start designing interim or transitional arrangements
that will apply from April 2019 until any new framework applies.

“The bills announced today will require meaningful scrutiny in Parliament and
continuing consultation with business. It is imperative that parliamentarians
remain focused on securing the right outcomes and do not get side-tracked.

“As these bills progress, FDF will continue to be staunch advocates for UK food
and drink manufacturing. We are ready to work with politicians across all
parties to get the best Brexit deal. Only then will we secure the vibrant and diverse
food industry that UK consumers expect and deserve.

“We are looking for four key outcomes – access to our valued EU workforce, a
stable regulatory regime, zero-tariff and frictionless trade across borders and
recognition of Ireland's special circumstances. Food and drink is central to the
negotiations and must not be pushed aside. An industrial strategy sector deal for
food and drink and focused export support will allow us to maximise our
industry's growth potential and boost productivity levels.

“These are unprecedented challenges and we cannot afford to get it wrong.”

Agriculture Bill

We are committed customers of UK farmers, purchasing the majority of the
country's agricultural output, and will work closely with our friends in the NFU on the
UK's future food and agriculture policy. The UK's 6,800 food and drink
manufacturers must have access to adequate supplies of raw materials that are safe, of
high quality and competitively priced. We are committed to reducing our own
environmental impacts and to working with others to increase resource efficiency and
help protect natural capital across the whole food supply chain. We believe that
sustainable and globally competitive food production, which looks at the supply
chain as a whole, should be the key objective to replace the EU's Common
Agricultural Policy (CAP).

Customs Bill

Maintaining frictionless movements of goods between the UK and EU will be
essential for our industry. 70% of food and non-alcoholic drink exports and imports
are with the EU. Getting the details right via the Customs Bill will be critical
to ensure that this remains the case. Food and drink must not face additional
delays at border or burdensome checks. This will be vital to ensure both the
competitiveness of the UK's wider agri-food and drink supply chain which supports 4
million jobs and to avoid potential impacts on the cost and availability of food
and drink enjoyed by UK consumers.

Fisheries Bill

The UK's fish processors are the key economic players in the seafood industry
and provide UK consumers with affordable, safe and healthy food. Any new fisheries
policy must ensure continued access to the supplies we need at competitive
prices, whether domestically caught or imported. Given the transboundary nature of
many of the challenges facing the industry, not least the management of shared
stocks, continued collaboration and engagement with the EU will take on an even
greater level of importance.

Immigration Bill

We understand that controlled immigration is crucial to healthy communities.
However, business must be able to attract the brightest and best global talent. We
hope Government's forthcoming proposal on the future of EU citizens here will be
well received by the EU27. We value greatly the contribution of the 117,000 EU
citizens already working in food and drink manufacturing, and urge the right to
remain. As an industry, we face a looming skills gap and need access to skills
and talent while we continue to boost home-grown talent.

Repeal Bill

Maintaining consumer confidence in the safety and authenticity of UK food and
drink is paramount and the Repeal Bill must provide certainty for our 6800
businesses. We must protect the UK's reputation for high quality products, while where
possible, boosting the competitiveness of our sector. It will be vital to
minimise regulatory fragmentation across the nations of the UK, and to ensure
Government has the right mechanisms to ensure mutual recognition for seamless trade. Any
proposed changes to food and drink regulation as between the UK and EU – and
across the devolved administrations of the UK – should be subject to detailed
consultation with industry and we offer our expertise for the task ahead.

Trade Bill

As the largest market for exports and vital imports, we need to secure a special
deal with the Republic of Ireland, a bold and ambitious Free Trade Agreement
with the EU, and continued frictionless trade across borders. Until a trade deal
has been agreed, ratified and enters into force, we will need transitional
arrangements to ensure businesses have continued access to vital imported ingredients
and export markets. Ireland is of particular concern to us as there is a complete
co-dependency in food and drink production between the UK and Republic of
Ireland. We urge the Government to find a practical solution which avoids the
introduction of any kind of 'hard' border that would damage both economies.

UK food and drink manufacturers export more than £20bn of goods a year but just
one in five manufacturers currently sell overseas. To help prepare the UK
agri-food and drink supply chain to take advantage of new opportunities created as we
leave the EU, Government should look to Bord Bia (the Irish Food Board) as
inspiration in creating a specialist export organisation to help turbocharge sales of
UK food and drink globally and fulfil the industry's export potential.

Notes to editors:

Food and drink manufacturers add £28.2 billion to GDP and generate more than £20
billion in exports. Around 400,000 people earn their living in food and drink
manufacturing in 6800 firms. We work closely with our partners in farming, food
retail and hospitality to harness the voice of the entire supply chain. The 'farm
to fork' industry is an economic superpower, worth £110 billion to the UK and
employing more than four million people.